Trade

"So, Senior Sister Yu came all this way late at night just to comprehend my daytime movement technique through the wind?" Chen Yuan immediately understood Yu Qinglan's purpose.

Yu Qinglan nodded gently, looking slightly apologetic. "Sorry, Junior Brother Chen Yuan. I comprehended your Conception without your permission."

"It's nothing. Being able to comprehend it is your talent." Chen Yuan shook his head, then suddenly thought of something and pressed on. "So when Luo Hai mentioned that your movement technique and swordsmanship were seventy percent similar to mine, it was because you had secretly gone to where I trained and comprehended my swordsmanship?"

Yu Qinglan immediately blushed at Chen Yuan's words. She hurriedly shook her head. "I never deliberately tried to spy on you. I just happened to choose the same Gravity Chamber."

"And I wasn't deliberately stealing your techniques." Yu Qinglan sighed. "After mastering the Wind of Existence, even when I don't actively use it, those 'memories in the wind' still affect me. Most of those effects are extremely slight."

"But you're different, Junior Brother Chen Yuan." Yu Qinglan suddenly became solemn and stared at Chen Yuan. "The power of the Conception you've mastered is too overbearing, too powerful, so the memories it leaves behind are especially intense."

"I only trained in that Gravity Chamber once, but my original swordsmanship and movement technique were completely led astray by you." Yu Qinglan's tone was helpless. "Later, I tried to return to practicing my own swordsmanship, only to find that not only did I make no progress, I actually regressed the more I trained."

"Only by imitating your techniques could my swordsmanship and movement technique improve, but accordingly, they became more and more inclined toward your style."

"I don't know why only your swordsmanship is so bizarre." Yu Qinglan looked at Chen Yuan with a trace of resentment in her eyes. "So I wasn't deliberately following you. It's just that if I didn't train this way, my strength would only keep declining until I hit rock bottom."

After hearing Yu Qinglan's explanation, Chen Yuan fell silent. This was the first time he had learned of this problem, so he silently asked the system in his heart, What would happen if someone else practiced the Gale Sword Art?

The system quickly gave its answer.

The answer was simple. Because the Gale Sword Art had been specially tailored for Chen Yuan during its optimization, if anyone else practiced it, they would unconsciously become tainted with his aura. That aura would reject other cultivation methods, and only by continuing down Chen Yuan's path of cultivation could they keep improving.

Even after receiving the answer, Chen Yuan did not know what to say. So this misunderstanding had been caused by a single secret art.

When Chen Yuan had first heard about Yu Qinglan's situation from Luo Hai, his mental power had spread outward, and he had happened to sense Yu Qinglan hiding behind the door and eavesdropping. He had mistakenly assumed that she had been spying on his training all along.

That was why he had deliberately invited Luo Hai to spar at the Training Ground. Sure enough, Yu Qinglan had followed them there as well, making him even more certain of his guess.

He had originally planned to confront Yu Qinglan tonight, but he had not expected to learn the truth from her instead.

So in the end, Yu Qinglan had also been harmed by his cultivation technique. Chen Yuan felt strangely conflicted, so he asked the system again, Is there any way to restore someone who has practiced the Gale Sword Art to normal?

The ever-responsive system quickly replied. There was, and it was very simple: he only needed to optimize a personalized cultivation technique according to her circumstances.

As long as Yu Qinglan also practiced a cultivation technique exclusively suited to her, she could resist the effects brought by the Gale Sword Art and return to normal. In the future, she would have no problem cultivating other ordinary techniques and manuals.

Chen Yuan sank into thought. To be honest, optimizing an Earth cultivation technique was nothing to him now. Especially if he gave up universality, it would cost at most a few dozen Kill Points.

He was simply worried that this might expose the system's existence.

After all, Chen Yuan knew that in a few hundred years, Hong would pass the twentieth level of the Illusion Sea, drawing an investigation from the Founder of the Giant Axe. A powerhouse of that level could easily perform Retrospection through time. By then, every action Chen Yuan had taken on Earth would be seen by that Universe Supreme Being.

Therefore, Chen Yuan had always avoided directly exposing the system. Any conversation related to the system, even matters concerning his own identity, was silently spoken only in his heart. He did not dare say them aloud.

But on second thought, if he did not reveal the system's existence and merely attributed his optimization ability to his own talent, would that draw the Founder of the Giant Axe's attention?

Chen Yuan considered it and felt that it probably would not. The universe was simply too vast, and all manner of powerful talents emerged endlessly.

In the original story, Luo Feng had possessed the body of a Golden Horned Beast with a peak bloodline of the universe. Even such a heaven-defying opportunity had only been called a "middling-to-upper-tier" fortuitous encounter by his teacher, the Chaos City Lord. It had received such a high evaluation only because of the Golden Horned Beast's innate secret art, Clone.

And merely optimizing secret arts? In the eyes of those cosmic powerhouses, it probably did not count as any particularly powerful talent, because the level of what he could optimize was still too low.

In other words, as long as he did not expose the ability of Infinite Optimization, he would not attract the attention of those powerhouses.

With that thought, Chen Yuan raised his head to look at Yu Qinglan. "I've just thought it over. I should be able to solve the problem you're facing."

Yu Qinglan's eyes immediately lit up when she heard that. "How?"

"You should know that the Gale Sword Art I practice was optimized from a C-rank manual because of my own talent." Chen Yuan continued after seeing Yu Qinglan nod. "Because that manual was optimized entirely according to my physical condition, it became tainted with my aura, making it impossible for anyone but me to practice."

"If someone forcibly practices it, they'll end up in your current situation."

"So the trouble I've suffered all this time was entirely an undeserved disaster?" Yu Qinglan pursed her lips. She still felt somewhat upset, but she also knew she could not blame Chen Yuan.

After all, Chen Yuan had not known that the Conception she comprehended was so unusual, and she had not known that his manual was so strange.

Who could have imagined that she would simply choose a Gravity Chamber at random to train in, only to fall victim to this?

"So, you know how to remove this influence?" Yu Qinglan asked, her tone carrying a hint of expectation.

"I can tailor a cultivation technique for you based on your physical condition," Chen Yuan said. "As long as you practice this technique, you can resist the effects of the Gale Sword Art and return to normal."

Yu Qinglan's eyes lit up upon hearing Chen Yuan's words, but then she seemed to think of something and frowned slightly. "Then can I still practice other manuals in the future?"

"Of course," Chen Yuan answered firmly.

"Then..." Yu Qinglan hesitated, but still asked, "What price would I have to pay for you to tailor a cultivation technique for me?"

"Tailoring a cultivation technique won't have any effect on you personally." Chen Yuan shook his head. "It's just that creating one specifically for you will cost me something as well."

"So in exchange, I hope to comprehend the power of your Conception," Chen Yuan stated his condition.

That was right. Chen Yuan's goal was the Wind of Existence Conception mastered by Yu Qinglan. This branch of Conception involving time was of crucial importance to him.

If not for that, he would not have risked his secret being exposed to optimize a cultivation technique for Yu Qinglan.

After hearing Chen Yuan's request, Yu Qinglan revealed an unsurprised expression and nodded. "I can teach you the Wind of Existence, but I can't guarantee that you'll be able to learn it. I only comprehended this branch of Conception through a fortunate coincidence."

"It's fine. As long as you allow me to observe when you use this Conception," Chen Yuan said, smiling after Yu Qinglan agreed.

"Then..." Yu Qinglan relaxed after the deal was reached and extended her hand toward Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan understood and raised his hand to high-five her.

Smack!

Yu Qinglan finally smiled. "Deal!"